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Low key wedding in or around Dublin city centre

  • 22-01-2011 11:49pm
    #1
    no fuss
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭


    My fiance and I want to get married but are not fans of a big day with all the trappings so we are looking for a venue with a difference for about 60-80 guests. Ideas are La Peniche canal boat, Lesson St or Fallon and Byrne. Also Tailor's Hall in Christchurch or Beaufield Mews, Stillorgan. Ideally we would like a nice restaurant with an adjoining bar that has a good food and a nice atmosphere and interior. Any ideas for somewhere that suggest something low key while at the same time being suitable for a wedding?

    We live in Drumcondra and would consider some of the restaurants there but they're all too small.

    I would love to hear from others who aren't going for the traditional route of the hotel, set menu etc.


Comments

  • #2
    antiskeptic
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,555 ✭✭✭antiskeptic


    no fuss wrote: »
    My fiance and I want to get married but are not fans of a big day with all the trappings so we are looking for a venue with a difference for about 60-80 guests. Ideas are La Peniche canal boat, Lesson St or Fallon and Byrne. Also Tailor's Hall in Christchurch or Beaufield Mews, Stillorgan. Ideally we would like a nice restaurant with an adjoining bar that has a good food and a nice atmosphere and interior. Any ideas for somewhere that suggest something low key while at the same time being suitable for a wedding?

    We live in Drumcondra and would consider some of the restaurants there but they're all too small.

    I would love to hear from others who aren't going for the traditional route of the hotel, set menu etc.

    We searched high and low for the same thing and ended up with L'Ecrivain on Baggot St. ticking the boxes required for a wedding that's different - but not so different as to be strange:

    - Michelin-starred restaurant, so top class food and service - it's a bit pricier that most but we bargained hard so it wasn't that much more - given that it would be something a bit special for most guests (including us!). Probably not affordable at the weekends though.

    - There are so many elements to the meal itself that it easily spreads out over three hours. We arrived at about 5pm and things wrapped up at about 1 in the morning - and we didn't have much of an afters. One of the dangers of a restaurant wedding (I've been to a couple) is that you're over and done with before you know it and there's nothing left to do/nowhere to go.

    - they've an award-winning wine expert in house so you get the benefit of picking a cheapish house wine that (has to) works for a Michelin restaurant. Better than doing it yourself/being pushed by someone with an agenda.

    - The restaurant's upstairs, with a decent sized lobby/bar downstairs to receive/mingle with guests before dinner. None of the restaurants we viewed had this feature so you'd end up with guests arriving and being shepherded straight into the dining area on arrival. Not conducive to a relaxed, drawn out affair.

    - they've access to an excellent piano man who can fill in during the drinks reception .. then turn to cranking it up for a sing-song afterwards - the lobby/bar functioning as a place to have an afters. Again a problem in most restaurants when the dinners over - what to do next?

    - there's a covered/seated patio to spill out onto if the weathers nice/for the smokers


    It did cost that bit extra (we were thinking Fallon & Byrne too) but at the end of it - given the expense of the day and the fact that the reception is a central plank - well worth it.

    All the best whatever you choose..


  • #3
    amdublin
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,653 ✭✭✭✭amdublin


    La peniche is good for atmosphere. But just okay for food.


  • #4
    smelltheglove
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,503 ✭✭✭smelltheglove


    Fallon & Byrne is a lovely restaurant. A friend of mine used to be head chef there until he opened his own restaurant before Christmas. You could also see about booking that restaurant for the day, Essence in Swords village. The food is great and they are happy to accomadate groups too with special menus made to suit etc.


  • #5
    amdublin
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,653 ✭✭✭✭amdublin


    Swords is not exactly in or around Dublin City :confused:


  • #6
    smelltheglove
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,503 ✭✭✭smelltheglove


    Just a suggestion amdublin, its not far and its not far from Drumcondra either. And a worthy suggestion if they were thinking of Fallon & Byrne in regards to the standard of food.


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  • #7
    sweetie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,797 ✭✭✭sweetie


    A friend who tried to book Tailors Hall couldn't get a drinks license and used the Pillar room in the Rotunda instead which was very nice. They hired caterers for a small group of family and friends and then had a big party later in the evening.

    Also, have you looked at the Harbourmaster in the IFSC?


  • #8
    kandr10
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,601 ✭✭✭kandr10


    Wow - I'd love to have wedding reception in L'ecrivain. Lucky!! Sounds fab.

    Fallon and Byrne is lovely. It's great food, reasonably priced. The room they put aside for weddings is a nice size and they have space for a bit of dancing if you were worried about the meal being over too soon. They also have the wine bar in the basement which is nice.
    I know people who had Tailor's Hall too and they loved it, but it has to be self-catered so you have the issue of stocking the bar and things like that.
    Christchurch also rent out the crypt. Looks gorgeous but you have to finish up fairly early and get in caterers too.
    We've booked the Beaufield Mews. Yet to have the wedding, so hope it'll be good! Love the look of the place. You have your meal but again you can get a dj if you want but there's also the bar and garden for ppl to hang out in.
    Good luck with finding a place :)


  • #9
    no fuss
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭no fuss


    Wow thanks for all the suggestions. L'Ecrivain sounds great - I hadn't thought about the fact that most restaurants don't have a lobby area to mingle before food so thanks for pointing that out. I will def look into the Pillar Room-it looks great on the internet. Thanks for the Swords recommendation too-like I said anywh in the vicinity of Drumcondra. I think I'll rule out La Peniche as it's weather dependent so might be miserable on a boat in the rain!!!

    So hard to decide. Thanks again x


  • #10
    sushisushi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 114 ✭✭sushisushi


    This is probably well out of date and not much use to the OP by now, but we're getting married in the Tailors' Hall this summer and they've changed their set-up in the last year. They now have an in-house caterer and bar staff, so you don't have to worry about stocking the bar, organising caterers, etc. They've been fantastic so far, very accommodating and organised, and can do drinks reception in between the ceremony and dinner, BBQ in the evening if you want it, etc.


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